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Customs

Import duties: what they are and how they are calculated

Duties are the taxes a country charges on imported goods, calculated as a percentage of the product's value according to its tariff classification and country of origin.

Each product has a tariff code (HS) and each code has a different duty rate in each country: apparel does not pay the same as electronics, and Brazil does not charge the same as Chile.

Internal taxes (VAT, state taxes) are then added on top of the duty, calculated on value plus duty. That is why the total tax can be well above the nominal duty.

Shipping with MailAmericas

How Duties works in our operation

MailAmericas calculates duties and taxes for each destination by product category and informs the seller before the sale so they can set a DDP price. Several countries' simplified regimes apply a single flat rate that replaces the duty by code.

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Frequently asked question

Does a free trade agreement eliminate duties?

Only for goods originating in the agreement country, with a certificate of origin. Shipping from the United States is not enough if the product was made somewhere else.

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